Twilight at the Lake

Pink clouds at sunset

Cotton candy in the sky

Nature’s gift to me

Jungle River Cruise, Costa Rica

Boys catch fish on shore

Border of Nicaragua

Monkeys swoon in trees

Have you ever tried writing haikus with your class? If not, they are simple, fun and easy to teach for all ages!

Here are some ways to get started with your students today:

• Take the students outside for a nature walk. Ask them to sketch or jot down observations that they see.
• Teach them how to turn the observations into a poem. Model with one of your own.
• Have students vote on a topic and write a poem as a class. Or, assign to partners or table groups. Remember to leave time for sharing!
• Ask the students to close their eyes and visualize their favorite moment and/or experience in nature. Use this as a springboard for their poems.
• To help them begin, model with your own nature experience inspired poem.
• If counting the syllables proves to be challenging, have the students first just focus on generating phrases connected to their topics. Later, they can revise and make changes to adjust for the correct syllables (5, 7, 5).
• HAVE FUN!

Happy writing,

Lisa